Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Miranda to Lawrence: Your bill undercuts the progress we’ve made on immigration issues

Miranda to Lawrence: Your bill
undercuts the progress we’ve made on immigration issues

STATE CAPITOL, PHOENIX – Senator-elect
Catherine Miranda, D-Phoenix (District 27), released this statement in response
to an announcement from Rep.-elect
Jay Lawrence, R-Scottsdale (District 23), that he will introduce
legislation that would require driver’s licenses issued to some immigrants to
carry the label “non-citizen.”

“Mr. Lawrence’s proposed
legislation undercuts the momentum our state has gained and the progress we’ve
made on immigration issues. The recent court decisions that provided a way for
dreamers to get driver’s licenses are good for public safety and for our
state’s economy.

“Policies like the one
Mr. Lawrence is proposing are cut from the same ideological cloth as SB 1070. Our
state is ready to move beyond laws like that. What purpose will it serve to add
the word ‘non-citizen’ to a driver’s license? How will that improve public
safety or the economy? In short, it
won’t. Instead, it will promote a negative image of our state.

“I hope that the new
members of our Legislature will embrace the positive and productive immigration
policies that we have been focused on recently. The courts have spoken.
Dreamers are getting driver’s licenses. There is no need for further attempts
to stigmatize this community.”